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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Twisted Thistle IPA

When I was trying to decide what brews I wanted to get from The Country Mile I had limited space so I had to be fairly selective. I already had an armload when hubby pointed out Twisted Thistle IPA.

I'd noticed it but had passed it up. Although it looked interesting, it was in a clear bottle. It is my policy to avoid beer in clear or green bottles. Why? Because, from my experience, beer in clear or green bottles tend to have a skunky aroma and/or a skunky taste. Not desirable attributes in my ever so humble opinion.

I'd never had the brewer or the beer and that's always enticing to me bordering on irresistible. So, against my better judgement, I grabbed a bottle anyway. Resistance is sometimes futile.

Twisted Thistle is a gorgeous burnt orange color. It pours mostly clear with a two finger bright white head. The head dissipates fairly quickly and leaves behind loose lacing on the glass.

The aroma is, as I feared it would be, was distinctly skunky. It wasn't particularly enticing.

The flavor, skunkiness aside, was interesting. Once I got past the funk, was primarily sweet caramel malt tinged with a curious smokiness. The mouthfeel was somewhat creamy and smooth.

I can't say that I'm disappointed. I got exactly what I expected.

If it wasn't for the fouling effects of the clear bottle I think this would have been a really good beer. Unfortunately, I'll never know.

There are pictures of this brew in dark brown bottles. I'm curious as to why there is different packaging? Hmm.